Manny Ramirez remains strong A’s possibility, Matsui longshot

I’m hearing that the A’s are continuing to pursue Manny Ramirez, and that they’re much more interested in Ramirez than Magglio Ordonez at this point; Ordonez’s health is more of a concern.

Signing Ramirez would be the last thing the A’s do before camp opens, I’m told, maybe even after pitchers and catchers report.

If the A’s do sign Ramirez, it is likely that Kila Ka’aihue would get the first crack at DHing until Ramirez is done serving his 50-game PEDs suspension. People I’ve spoken to in the A’s organization are intrigued by Ka’aihue’s power potential.

The A’s have some interest in last year’s DH, Hideki Matsui, who remains unsigned, but that remains a real long-shot, though they’ve been in touch with Matsui’s agent, Arn Tellem. They’ve also had some talks about Johnny Damon, but Damon is probably looking for more money than Oakland is looking to spend.

In addition, the A’s are considering trading for Texas reliever Koji Uehara, according to team sources, confirming a tweet by Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com.